1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for keeping food warm until served and eaten at a location remote from a food preparation center, as in a hospital.
2. The Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,330 discloses a heat-retaining server wherein a heat retaining pellet is attached firmly to the upper wall by a central support extending through a central aperture in the pellet. The pellet has a thick peripheral flange which extends downwardly to a lower shoulder which engages a rim of the lower wall of the server to reduce deformation. The top of the pellet is generally flat except having a step just inward of a peripheral flange engaging a lower portion of an inclined side portion of the upper wall. The server has no insulation between the pellet and the lower wall. The pellet is said to occupy at least 75 percent of the space within the server between the upper and lower walls to prevent deformation due to increase of pressure within the sealed server.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,734,077 discloses a generally rectangular food server having an apertured heat-retaining pellet. The upper and lower walls contact one another through depression through the central aperture, but the portions are not weldled together as in prior art patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,557,774.